GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A judge has dismissed a former WZZM 13 reporter’s lawsuit against the station in which she said co-workers, mostly men, ignored COVID-19 protocols.
Shanna Grove was fired because of frequent tardiness and taking an unapproved leave of absence – not for discriminatory treatment or harassment toward women, U.S. District Judge Hala Jarbou said.
The judge granted a defense motion for summary judgment.
“Grove was late for work on many occasions despite several instructions from her supervisor to arrive on time for her shifts,” Jarbou said in a written opinion issued Aug. 29.
“And after that same supervisor expressly and repeatedly denied Grove’s request to take a leave of absence, telling her that WZZM could not accommodate her request, Grove took one anyway. That conduct motivated Grove’s termination, not any complaints that she had made a couple of months earlier.”
Grove claimed she was fired after she complained that co-workers, mostly males, ignored coronavirus protocols and worked while symptomatic.
Related: Ex-WZZM 13 reporter says her complaints male co-workers ignored COVID-19 protocols led to her firing
She alleged sex and gender discrimination in a federal lawsuit against WZZM, its owner, Tegna Inc., and licensee Combined Communications of Oklahoma Inc.
The defendants denied the allegations and asked that the case be dismissed.
Grove started at the Grand Rapids-based ABC affiliate in March 2018 and began as weekend morning anchor 13 months later.
She alleged that the station allowed “exposed and symptomatic employees to physically report to work without quarantining.”
She also filed an ethics complaint with Tenga, the parent company, alleging “disparate” treatment of male and female workers.
But the judge said a 2019 performance evaluations showed that Grove’s tardiness was a recurring problem.
The general manager wrote: “Your weekend shift is just as important as during the week (if not more). We have had issues throughout the year with you coming in late or leaving way before your shift ends to catch a train. I have had to talk with you a couple times about this.”
A 2020 evaluation also addressed tardiness. Co-workers complained that Grove received special treatment by showing up late or right before a live segment.
In a November 2020 Zoom meeting, which Grove recorded, she said that she was trying to limit time in the building because of concerns she would be exposed to COVID-19.
Dan Baylog, WZZM general manager, said on the call that Grove was expected in the office on time.
“That’s part of your responsibility as being an anchor at WZZM, and I don’t want to hear about you showing up at 4:45 in the morning to go on the air at 5,” he said, according to a transcript.
“And it’s interesting that there’s an issue about being in the building with an assigned seat with a mask on, between plexiglass, and hand sanitizer right behind you and you’re totally cool with coming to anchor on Saturday and Sunday. I feel like there is a misguided notion of I don’t know what other word to use other than entitlement. This is your first TV job out of college this is not how you should be behaving.”
Grove, in a Zoom meeting that afternoon with Tegna’s human resources, said she wanted to work at home, rather than the office, to reduce exposure to COVID-19. News director Julie Flynn told Grove she should show up at the same time with others.
“Flynn said it was ‘most crucial’ for Grove to be in the building at the start of her shift because the producers did not know when to expect her arrival,” the judge wrote.
A “swipe report” of Grove’s security badge showed she was late for work on 20 of 33 workdays from Nov. 1, 2020, to Jan. 1, 2021, the judge said.
Grove had taken four days off in January and February 2021 to care for her sick cat when her request for an additional day was denied. On Friday, Feb. 12, she asked for the weekend off. She was told no, that it would be an unexcused absence.
The station scrambled to find a late-minute replacement for the Saturday show.
Grove emailed that she thought they had an agreement she would take unexcused absences. She was fired Feb. 15, 2021.
The judge said there was no evidence that sex was a factor in the firing and no evidence of gender bias.
Grove had said that a male anchor had taken time off for a sick pet and was not fired. She also referenced a long-time reporter who was consistently late. In November 2019, the reporter was “loud and disrespectful” during an editorial meeting and subsequently fired, the judge said.
A male producer Grove referenced was also fired for not showing up for work, the judge said.
“In short, Grove has not established that she was treated differently from a similarly situated male employee,” Jarbou wrote.
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